Yule at the Vasquez’s

John Mahoney '19, news editor

This time of the year is heavy devoted to the Judeo-Christian holidays, specifically Christmas, but that is not all that is observed. People who follow the Wicca religion celebrate the winter solstice with the holiday Yule. 

One of the people in WTHS that celebrates Yule is junior Michaelis Vasquez.

What must be remembered about Yule is that each family who celebrates it celebrates it differently.  

Vasquez celebrates Yule because his mother and two of his sisters are Wiccans and his mother wanted to celebrate something easier that was also Wiccan. 

The day that Yule starts depends on how many people are in the house who are celebrating. for example, The Vasquez household has 7 members, so Yule starts on Dec. 19th. 

On the eve of the 19th, the members of the family pick names out of the hat and whatever name they get, that is the person to whom they give gifts. 

They exchange gifts every night until either the 24th or the 25th. On that morning, stockings are filled with small gifts and there is a big gift for everyone. 

One the first day of Yule, families who observe Yule make Solstice cookies, which are lemon cookies.  

They also have a Yule tree, which is like a Christmas tree, but it does not have an angel on top of it. 

Another part of Yule are the Yule candles. There are seven candles, each representing a different aspect of Yule and the earth: 

Green represents the earth and north, blue represents water and west, red represents fire and south, yellow represents air and east, gold represents mother earth, silver represents grace, orange represents confidence and/or courage, and white represents family. 

The candles are kept in a star shaped candelabra. A candle is lit each night of Yule, with the last one being lit being white. 

The white candle shows that at the core of Yule, like all holidays this time of the year, is family. 

“Yule is special to me because it’s different than anything other people do, and it’s unique to my family,”  Vasquez says.